Israel does not want to harm civilians in Gaza -Netanyahu

STORY: "This is important because we have no desire to harm the population," Netanyahu told a news conference in Tel Aviv. "We have a very strong desire to hurt Hamas."

Netanyahu spoke after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said that too many innocent Palestinians had been killed in Gaza as Israeli warplanes and artillery bombarded the enclave on Saturday following the collapse of a truce with Hamas militants.

Residents feared the barrages presaged an Israeli ground operation in the south of the Palestinian territory that would pen them into a shrinking area and possibly try to push them across into Egypt.

The Gaza health ministry said at least 193 Palestinians had been killed since the truce ended on Friday (December 1), adding to the more than 15,000 Palestinians dead since the start of the war.